Credit: The Associated Press

Director Aaron Sorkin attends a premiere for "Molly's Game" on day 2 of the Toronto International Film Festival at the Elgin Theatre on Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, in Toronto. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Credit: The Associated Press

Jessica Chastain signs autographs before the screening of "Molly's Game" at the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto on Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. (Christopher Katsarov./The Canadian Press via AP)

Credit: The Associated Press

Idris Elba, right, takes a selfie with a fan at a premiere for "Molly's Game" on day 2 of the Toronto International Film Festival at the Elgin Theatre on Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, in Toronto. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Credit: The Associated Press

Aaron Sorkin, right, and his daughter Roxy Sorkin attend a premiere for "Molly's Game" on day 2 of the Toronto International Film Festival at the Elgin Theatre on Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, in Toronto. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Credit: The Associated Press

Jessica Chastain waives as she attends a premiere for "Molly's Game" on day 2 of the Toronto International Film Festival at the Elgin Theatre on Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, in Toronto. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

TORONTO — Aaron Sorkin was sitting in a restaurant with producers Amy Pascal and Mark Gordon, ticking off the names of top Hollywood directors who might be a good fit for the script Sorkin had just finished: "Molly's Game," a drama about the so-called "poker princess" Molly Bloom.

"When we got to the end, Mark and Amy said, 'But we think you should direct it,'" Sorkin recalled in an interview. "And I grabbed at the chance."